Navigate:

January 09, 2011

Categories:

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Mark Potok has followed the far right, in detail, as long as anyone, and he was the first to tie Jared Loughner to an obscure, bizarre theorist of mind-control through grammar, David Wynn-Miller, who styles himself the King of Hawaii. (Miller supported that view in an interview with my colleague Carrie-Budoff Brown.)

“The idea weirdly enough of controlling grammar, of somehow the government using grammar to control the people is an idea that exists on the radical right," Potok said.

But Miller's ideas are so weird -- his anti-government ideology centers on the malign influence of the U.S. Postal Service -- that I wondered why Potok placed him on the right, and I emailed Potok to ask this evening. He responded that Miller's strange ideology is interlaced with views popular on the right fringe:

Miller is a full fledged believer in “sovereign citizens” ideology — the idea that you don’t have to pay taxes to the wicked federal government if you only know the right formula. He believes that if you upper case your name, you’re a slave of the government; on the other hand, if you use colons and hyphens in your name, you’re no longer taxable — you’ve broken free of the tyrannical government. As I say, these are ideas that are very important in large swaths of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement, aka the militia movement.

Potok also notes that Loughner seems to be drawing his views on currency from the right, and suggests that it makes sense to place even his flag-burning -- which resonates most with the Vietnam-era left -- with those anti-government views.

Loughner will presumably eventually explain himself, and it doesn't, in a sense, matter very much: He was so obviously disturbed that there's limited use analyzing his beliefs. But it's worth trying to understand, at least, where he was drawing his ideology from, and this strand of the fringe seems to be the answer.

Share this Article

Reader Comments (66)

Pages

1

from BigGovernement....Breaking: Democrats Plotted to Blame Tea Party for Slaughterby Jim Hoft Don’t ever let a horrible slaughter at a supermarket go to waste. A rescue helicopter lifts off as first responders evacuate victims from a “Congress on Your Corner” event in Tucson, Arizona, where U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) among others were shot and seriously wounded. (Reuters) Democrats plotted to blame the tea party patriots for yesterday’s slaugher in Arizona. A democratic operative admitted this to The Politico. Of course, Politico buried it in their story. One veteran Democratic operative, who blames overheated rhetoric for the shooting, said President Barack Obama should carefully but forcefully do what his predecessor did. “They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.” Another Democratic strategist said the similarity is that Tucson and Oklahoma City both “take place in a climate of bitter and virulent rhetoric against the government and Democrats.” This Democrat said that the time had come to insist that Republicans stand up when, for example, a figure such as Fox News commentator Glenn Beck says something incendiary. The shooter was a pro-Marxist, anti-flag, anti-Constitution, anti-religious crackpot. He was hardly a tea partier. So… Is this why DHS is going after a hate group that just happens to have Gadsden Flags ads on their website?… And, the media is trying to link the pro-Marxist lunatic to the tea party?

@ fyi -> Yes! He was so Left-Wing that he thought that anything other than the gold standard is unconstitutional and he was against "federalist laws." I don't know, I think I'm going to have to go with the guy is bat s*** insane; his political philosophy is an -ism salad; a nonsensical jumble that conveys mental instability as opposed to rational thought.

Giving any credence to the SPLC which has devoted years to smearing conservatives and blaming the "rightwing" for everything from sunspots to acne is not illuminating the issue. It's simply another party exploiting a tragedy to silence anyone who disagrees with them.

This is still a pluralistic and democratic republic. A collective framework -- government -- is necessary to manage the commons and maintain the order and security that makes our freedom possible. Without government, we have no nation, which is at the core of conservatism. Without government, you have anarchy and chaos, the opposite of what conservatives stand for. The only good that can come from this is that it might dispel some of the ignorance about conservatism in many institutions.

Posted By: Giving any credence to the SPLC which has devoted years to smearing conservatives and blaming the "r | January 09, 2011 at 07:55 PM

Potok and the Southern Poverty Law Center are simply a club used to beat the Left's political enemies. Extremists are always tempted to tar those who disagree with them as holding dangerous and illegitimate views. Many, many people who lead ordinary lives including some economists are troubled by aspects of the Federal Reserve System. We've heard them excoriate the Fed Chairman from the dias at recent congressional hearings. So what? You've never heard of the "Cross of Gold" speech by Bryan? Get an education. Maybe I'm ignorant because I don't share their concern. Who knows. What I do know is the difference between violence and speech. That's very, very clear. SPLC and anyone trying, however craftily to hang this crime on their political foes should reflect on what they are doing.

and to continue the rant... whoever this "King of Hawaii" is he is far from alone in his concern about language. Ever read Orwell's "1984" Like I said; get an education. Don't recall any of the sturm and drang about chairman or chairperson? He/She in literature? History/Herstory? Where did you go to school? Language and meaning have been central concerns of the Left then the Right for many years. There are stacks of unread books on the subject as well as unfortunate laws and resolutions pandering to those who care. It's the violence stupid.

This guy Sasha fan if Marx and Hitler. A communist and a socialist. Exactly Joe does that make him anything but a left winger? Of course I get the transparently obvious reason the lefties a politico would wish to hijack a national tragedy for narrowly partisan reasons but still........

We wouldn't dream of tarnishing all Muslims because a crazy few commit violence, but it's okay to do that with the right? The insane hatred of the angry left never ends....

The SPLC sees a militia indoor every rock. They are prone to view vets and military background as threats. This in part led to erroneous reports that he was an Afgan vet, as libs scrambled to pin this on the military. Instead, he had been rejected by the military.

Ironically, it was a military vet that saved Giffords life, something the left would like to downplay. Dr. Peter Rhee has 24 years in the military, and has served in Afghanistan and Iraq as a forward deployed combat trauma surgeon .

He's saved a lot of lives, I'm sure.

Posted By: We wouldn't dream of tarnishing all Muslims because a crazy few commit violence, but it's okay to do | January 09, 2011 at 08:39 PM

There is no hope. The only thing that will become of the right and left in this country is the situation will get worse. Might be 10 years...might be 20, but there will be some kind of war. Sad. Life is hard...we make it harder on ourselves.

I see Dan is still unemployed and still delusional. In these troubling times, it's nice to know there are some constants. The sun rises in the east, two plus two equals four, and Dan continues to have too much free time and a skewed perception of reality. Happy 2011 Dan!

I wonder why there is no outfit like this that investigates and researches left-wing,progressive, radical extremists??. Maybe there is but one never hears anything about it?, maybe I've missed it?. This Potok is a radical extremist who is only out to get Republicans, conservatives, Christians and Gun Bearers. All people that leftist extremist can't stand and want to do away with so they can change America into the socialist utopia that they dream of.

@ Thought Provoker -> Seems like a poor logical gap between not hearing of a left-wing version and concluding that it means this guy must be a radical. What is "extreme" is objective, and at this point in our time the Right is far more anti-government and extreme than the left. NO! That doesn't mean the Left doesn't have loon bags. NO! That doesn't mean the Left hasn't been a source of anti-government rhetoric or violence. But stating the fact that most of the anti-government, violent imagery, rhetoric is coming from the Right-wing of this country - sometimes including the statements of politicians themselves ("second amendment remedies") - doesn't make that person as extreme in the other direction.

If this country ever splits into two countries, with one run by liberals and the other by conservatives, it wouldn't take long for the liberal one to become like the former USSR run by a Joe Stalin-like liberal

@ phillycop -> Projection in its finest form. The people who want gay marriage, want to give a path to citizenship to illegals, want everyone to have access to health insurance, and wants Gitmo closed and its prisoners tried in civilian trials is the party of totalitarianism! lol

Hey FYI, what in the hell makes you think that anyone with a reasonable amount of sanity would ever again believe anything that Breitbart's BigGovernment has to say??!!! It wasn't that long ago that he was totally disgraced for running a doctored video that was meant to destroy another person. It's something you far right radicals are famous for, attack and destroy. Forget the facts, forget the truth, just spread distortions and lies. And who is it that always resorts to talk of violence and guns, teafart Sarah Palin claiming her "bullseye icon" elected teaparty candidates and told the far right "don't retreat, reload." And how about newly elected teaparty candidate Allen West, whose campaign manager said " if votes don't work, bullets will." And don't forget teaparty candidate Sharron Angle's comment about a 2nd amendment remedy (against Harry Reid.) You far right nutjobs don't seem to realize that your rhetoric of calling for violent solutions has consequences, you encourage the crazies to act out their fantasies. It's time to stop this insanity and to start acting like civilized human beings again. The majority of Americans don't agree with your 'guns are the answer' rhetoric.

Really Ben? He is not right or left, he is an anarchist, Conservatives want to preserve our government, Liberals want to evolve our government. This looney wanted to shoot our government. Not everything is right or left.

Same B.S. different day.
The left will use this incident to infringe on rights not realizing they (media, government)l turn around and use the actions of some extreme leftist in the future to justify more loss of freedom.
Trading Freedom for Security is a fools errand just like how Jefferson warned.

Dan,
Hitler was not a socialist, any more than North Korea is a "Democratic People's Republic." Hitler and Nazi Germany's philosophy was solidly, extremist right wing.
I know the Right loves to disavow Hitler, but it's an exercise in spreading falsehoods.

Posted By: Dan,
Hitler was not a socialist, any more than North Korea is a "Democratic People's Republic." Hi | January 09, 2011 at 09:43 PM

"If it walks like a duck" -- your name carries (likely unintended) irony. Potok has blamed the Right for violence because today's Right Wing IS violent, and has been primarily responsible for political violence for the last two decades.

Thought provoker -- perhaps the answer you seek is the simple fact that, today, political violence is overwhelmingly a Right Wing phenomenon in the U.S. The SPLC investigates hate groups with violent tendencies, period.
There are Left Wing radicals in the U.S., to be sure, but very few of today's Left are violent. Anyone who investigated violent Left Wingers would be pretty bored.

So what is your solution, Kythe? What should be done, assuming your attack on "right-wingers" is correct? (It's not.)

Should rightwing speech be banned? This is viewed as a center-right country. Which of those people should be silenced? Exit polls continually show most people consider themselves conservatives. Should they be jailed, or just silenced?

Posted By: So what is your solution, Kythe? What should be done, assuming your attack on "right-wingers" is co | January 09, 2011 at 10:09 PM

bama: “They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
** Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
** Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
** Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back Twice As Hard”
** Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick.“
** Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat”
** Obama to lib supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
** Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.”
** Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.”.

bama: “They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
** Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
** Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
** Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back Twice As Hard”
** Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick.“
** Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat”
** Obama to lib supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
** Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.”
** Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.”.

@ 10:19 -> No. Stop projecting. What we want is for the rhetoric to calm down and you won't listen to us, but I bet something as terrible as this will change the tune of many people on the right, especially the politicians (Bachmann, and the like).

That's an interesting leap. First of all, I've not argued that right wing speech should be banned. And you won't hear me say it, because it's not what I believe.

Second, I disagree about the "center right nation" thing -- while people may self-identify as "conservative", polling on actual issues is at odds with the notion that the U.S. is center-right.

At any rate, what I propose is taking some responsibility. Yes, the nut who pulled the trigger is the one who pulled the trigger. But do we engage in speech because it's something to pass the time? No, we do it because it impacts things around us. Speech has real-world results, The whole reason we have a First Amendment is precisely because speech has power to change things.

That being the case, it follows that we need to take some responsibility for our speech, just as we do for any other action. Is an apocalyptic tone really necessary as part of "Right-Wing speech?" Do we have to paint everything in "the country is doomed" black-and-white terms?

A little reflection on whether the unhinged people out there might be motivated to action by what we say is what I'm asking for. That's not banning speech; it's taking responsibility.

You far right radicals are pathetic, you want your rights but you don't want to act responsibly when using those rights. You think that you can just ramp up the rhetoric without taking blame for the crazies who listened to your rhetoric and acted on it. You're just like a kid who caught with his hand in the candy jar, instead of apologizing, you blame the candy jar.

Posted By: THE FAR RIGHT 'DON'T BLAME ME' GAME | January 09, 2011 at 11:19 PM

the issue is simple, when Mark Potok was writing and talking on TV, he hadn't seen the mountain of evidence piling up on Jared, Olbermann didnt see it either. But being pure vitriolic propagandists, they couldnt miss an opportunity to claim that the guy was a righty, afterall... it was a Democrat who was shot. Question is, is Keith and/or Mark man enough to get on TV and admit they were wrong?

David hyphen Wynn full colon Miller believes in so spelling his name he as become tax exempt. He believes the government enacts mind control through grammar. He believes the Universal Postal Service runs the world. He believes Ben Franklin was the PostMaster.

The causal connection between marijuana use and increased incidence of schizophrenia is clear enough, despite those proponents of legalization of marijuana who would prefer to ignore or deny this fact. The barbarism of liberal attitudes about drugs is certainly not the only evil apparent in this situation, but one might view it as sharply illustrated. When surveying the politics of marijuana, one can readily enough discern cultural attitudes that may be classed as left or right. However, the closest thing to a philosophically coherent political viewpoint on the topic comes from the Libertarians, neither of the left nor of the right, whose notable indifference to the miseries of self-destruction is rather held up as virtue, even if it must be regarded as a virtue only in the limited sense that indifference to suffering may be less barbaric than locking people in cages because they want to have some fun--in other words, there are arguments to be had.

palin, tea party and those inflaming others with their lies, are responsible for this tragedy. they are inciting people to use their guns on those they think are commies or doctors performing abortions. I blame them. They aren't good americans and don't love their country.

Posted By: palin, tea party and those inflaming others with their lies, are responsible for this tragedy. they | January 10, 2011 at 08:32 AM

I am addressing the paragraph about not wanting to pay taxes. It is a fact that several of BHO's staff did not pay their taxes. What is that? I don't know many people who don't want to pay taxes. We just would like to see the money taken care of and used in a sensible way. Our town has received an almost million dollar grant to investigate how much salt people should use. I know I shouldn't use much so I don't eat chips or french fries. Duh. All govt contracts have cost overruns. The waste is terrible.

I agree with Potok that his ideas about currency stem from some ideas on the right about returning to the gold standard and government spending. It's an obsession with the fact that money is only worth what people collectively believe it is. There's a really great explanation of these theories and their roots here: http://www.newdeal20.org/2011/01/10/currency-confusion-why-is-jared-loughner-a-gold-bug-32076/

The SPLC is an organization devoted to identifying and diseminating information about hate groups in the US; they also have developed an outstanding program that can serve as a basis for teaching tolerance in schools. The SPLC is a national treasure - and a beacon of hope.

I don't know if he is as crazy as I first thought he was after reading about David Wynn Miller. We can't say at this time that he was definitely crazy, since he might have just been repeating this fringe leader who sounds just as delusional and very similar. Loughner could of just been cold blooded and took up this fringe philosophy as a justification for his anger. We just don't know until the facts come out. The one thing I bet, though, is that he wasn't a liberal... too many conservative themes in his rants against the "current administration" and talk of currency and the way he talked about the Constitution. We don't know yet if he was a conservative.